Safety-sear for firearms.



No. 728,791 7 PATBNTED MAY 1-9, 1903.

' R. BLOOMER.

SAFETY SEAR FOR FIREARMS. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 30, 1902 10 MODEL 1C630 f WITNESSES INVENIUBR ZZOZQIZdBZOOflZfl' NrTE STATES Patented May19, 1903.

ATENT rrrcn.

ROLAND BLOOMER, OF TEMPLE BALSALL, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO WEBLEY AND SCOTTREVOLVER AND ARMS COMPANY, LIMITED, OF BIRMINGHAM,

ENGLAND.

SAFETY-SEAR FOR FIREARMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 728,791, dated May 19,1903. Application filed August 30, l902. Serial No. 121,675. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROLAND BLOOMER, gunmaker, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain, residing at Arden House, Balsall street,

Temple Balsall, in the county of Warwick,

England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSafety-Sear Mechanism for Firearms, of which the following is aspecification.

:0 This invention has relation to tumbler safety or intercepting searmechanism for guns, rifles, and other small-arms the saidimprovementsbeing applicable to both single and double barrel small-arms which areprovided with safety-sear mechanism in order to prevent the accidentaldischarge or jar-off in the case of double-barrel weapons of the secondbarrel by the firing of the first barrel and also to prevent accidentaldischarge in the case of the gun or rifle (whether single or doublebarreled) being dropped or from other causes; and the objects of thepresent invention are to simplify the construction of the safety ortumbler intercepting devices and to render the same more certain andrapid in their action, as well as to reduce the number of parts requiredto make up an intercepter-lock mechanism.

According to one form of my invention as applied to a safety-searmechanism for double-barrel drop-down guns I arrange in con nection withthe tumbler of each lock a pair of separate orindependentsears, sodisposed relative to the tumbler (which has two bents) that the main orfiring sear is alwaysin bent when the tumbler is cooked, while thesecondary or intercepting sear normally lies just clear of but in thepath of the secondary or back bent in the said tumbler, the arrangementof the several parts being such that the primary sear can only becleared from its bent to release the tumbler by motion comm unicated toit from the secondary sear after the latter has been moved out of itsnormal 5 or intercepting position. Both sears are worked by a singletail, which is lifted by the trigger and is carried by the secondarysear. Thus when the trigger is pulled and the single sear-tail lifted inthe ordinary way the secondary sear is first moved independently out ofits normal or intercepting position, after which both sears are movedcollectively and the nose of the primary sear is taken out of the frontbent and the tumbler is free to fall for firing; but should the mainsear be accidentally jerked out of its bent by the jaroff occasioned bythe discharge of the barrel or from any other causes, then the tumbleris arrested after having made only a slight movement and is preventedvfrom falling against the firing-pin by being immediately caught by thesecondary sear, whose nose is then engaged by the back bent of thetumbler. The secondary sear thus takes the place of the primary one andremains fast in 6 bent until the gun is recocked.

Figure I of the accompanying drawings represents partly in longitudinalvertical section and partly in elevation the lock mechanism of adouble-barreled hammerless gun of 7 0 the Anson and Deeley type fittedor provided with an arrangement of intercepting or safety sears inaccordance with one form of my invention. This view shows one of thetumblers and its primary and secondary series in elevation, and theseveral parts are shown in the positions which they assume after the gunhas been fired. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the lock mechanism to thatrepresented in Fig. 1, but shows the tumbler 90 held at full-cock, readyfor firing, by the engagement of the nose of the primary searwith theforward tumbler-bent, while the secondary sear is in its normal orintercepting position within the path of the back bent. The sears inthis figure are represented in section to show the clearance provided toallow for the independent movement of the primary and secondary parts.Fig. 3 is a similar view to'that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but representsthe tumbler caught and held by'the engagement of the nose of theintercepting-sear with the back bent of the tumbler, as would occur ifthe primary sear should be inadvertently jarred out of bent. Fig. 4 isan under side plan of the intercepter or secondary sear separately. Thisinterceptor carries the single tail, which is acted upon by the triggerof the gun for taking the secondary sear-out of its interceptingposition and the primary sear out of bent with the tumbler. Fig. 5 is anunder side plan of the primary sear separately.

The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thedrawings.

In the lock mechanism shown in the said figures, a a are the tumblers,and b the main springs. Each of the tumblers has two bents c d, of whichthe formeris the full-cock bent and is engaged by the primary sear ewhenthe tumbler is at full-cock, while the other or back bent is adapted tobe engaged by the secondary sear or intercepterf in the event of theprimary sear being inadvertently jarred out of bent with the tumbler.

The two sears are disposed one above the other at the back of thetumbler and are mounted and rock upon the same center-pin g, and thesecondary sear or intercepter has a rearward extension or tail f, whichcomes over and is acted upon by the trigger-blade of the look, while theforward part is boxed out or recessed from the under side atf to form achamber for the reception of the primary sear 6, whose nose end 6extends a little beyond the nose end f of the intercepter. The oppositesides of the boxed or chambered part of the said intercepter have holes7 coinciding with the hole e in the primary sear, and through theseholes the joint-pin g is passed, and both the sears may turn bodilythereon; but a clearance 71 is arranged behind the said joint andbetween the top of the primary sear and the roof of the chambered partof the secondary sear in order to admit of a slight vertical play orindependent rocking movement between the two sears, which on the tail fbeing raised will allow the nose of the secondary soar to be taken quiteclear and out of its intercepting position in the path of back bentbefore any movement is communicated to the primary sear, it beingunderstood that the said primary sear is tilted downward and taken outof its bent solely through the medium of the secondary sear, which atthe completion of its limited independent movement bears upon the topside of the primary sear at a point forward of their common joint, andthus the two sears are constrained to move together or collectively bythe tilting motion which is communicated from the secondary to theprimary one. It will also be understood that no movement can be impartedto the primary sear so long as the secondary sear remains in itsintercepting position and that the initial movement given to the searmechanism by the lifting of the trigger is expended in taking the saidsecondary sear clear, after which both sears move collectively and thetumbler is released.

When the gun is recocked, the sears are automatically returned to andretained in their normal positions, as indicated in Fig. 2,

by means of suitably-arranged springs, such as those shown in thedrawings and respec tively marked i and j, the former of which bearsagainst the under side of a stud 1', disposed on the edge of the primarysear forward of thejoint, while thelatter bears underneath asimilarly-located ear or extension j of the secondary sear. A separateor independent spring may be provided for each sear or a single springsplit into two side-by-side limbs may be used, as shown in the drawings.

The back bent is formed of such an angle that when the tumbler is caughtor intercepted by the secondary sear it cannot be disengaged therefromby pulling the trigger, and the gun Will require to be opened to recockthe said tumbler before it can be discharged.

Instead of both the sears being mounted upon a single pin, which is thepreferable and most convenient arrangement, it is obvious that they maybe pivoted upon separate axes disposed one above the other or indissimilar planes.

The application of the invention to singlebarrel guns and rifles,whether of the dropdown or fixed-barrel type, and to other small arms,such as pistols, differs in no essential respect from its application toa double-barrel drop-down ham merless gun as herein described.

Having described my invention, I declare that what I claim, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with the tumbler of a gun; and the mainspring; of anintercepter arranged to engage with said tumbler, said intercepterhaving a recess therein, and having a tailpiece; a trigger in engagementwith the tailpiece of said intercepter; and a sear mounted in the recessof said intercepter and arranged to engage with said tumbler and to bethrown out of engagement therewith by said intercepter.

2. The combination with the tumbler of a. gun; and the mainspring; of apivoted intercepter arranged to engage with said tumbler, saidintercepter having a recess therein, and having a tailpiece; a triggerin engagement with the tailpiece of said intercepter; and a sear, in therecess of said intercepter, mounted upon the pivot thereof, and arrangedto engage with said tumbler and to be thrown out of engagement therewithby said intercepter.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ROLAND BLOOMER.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR T. SADLER, EDITH HELLABY.

